Rick By Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum, the preppy Pennsylvania statesman who placed a surprising second at last week's Iowa caucus (but tanked in New Hampshire last night), took to his website this week to offer a "Rick Santorum for President" sweater vest in exchange for a $100 donation. The not-quite-on-trend vest is made in the USA out of 100 percent cotton and comes in grey—only grey. Not so risky in the fashion world, but maybe daring in the world of politics where an expensive haircut can doom you forever.

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Santorum's choice of fuzzy, knit sweater vests, instead of the standard button-down-rolled-up-sleeves look most politicians reach for when trying to be "men of the people"—hard-working, blue-collar, pious, sincere, salt-of-the-earth MEN—strayed from the norm. So much so, that it inspired a Twitter handle, a Tumblr, a New York Times profile, and countless other mentions in papers and sites of record.

A sweater vest fixation may be the most boring thing ever written about in the world of politics—though the media was happy to harp on Hillary Clinton's equally thrilling love of suits, and Madeline Albright's exciting, extensive pin collection. Santorum, however, is the first politician to try and trade his style for campaign funding. Would you have donated $100 to Palin's campaign if she'd offered bump-its in return? How about $50 to Bush's for an American flag pin? Yeah, we didn't think so.